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Wikileaks has revealed today a new draft of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. It is a highly controversial free trade treaty including 12 countries from the Asia and Pacific region. The leak is composed of a version of the treaty’s second chapter, which is said to have been from negotiations in Vietnam in May of this year.

Claims made by Wikileaks say that the revisions in the newest draft include, “a resuscitation of the defeated Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement” among other things. Other implications include, “measures that would significantly constrain affordable access to vital generic drugs, such as cancer drugs and treatments for communicable diseases such as Ebola.”

In a press release by Wikileaks, it was said that some parts have been removed from previous revisions, including portions that were “vitally important for allowing doctors to engage in medical procedures without fear of a lawsuit for providing the best care for their patients.” It was also claimed that the United States has pushed back against these measures being removed.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation expressed concerns in their analysis that the United States was attempting to “push terrible DRM and Copyright term propoals.” The analysis, written by Jeremy Malcom and Maira Sutton also makes the claim that it contains new trade secret protections. It “would criminalize the unauthorized, willful access of a trade secret held in a computer system, or the misappropriation or disclosure of a trade secret using a computer system”, they said.

The EFF’s concerns are that the language does not offer any exemptions for whistleblowers, meaning journalists could be charged for revealing the details of trade secrets. They also express concerns that, “this would encourage or obligate countries to enact draconian anti-hacking laws much like the Criminal Fraud and Abuse Act that was used to prosecute Aaron Swartz.” Indeed, this would make life interesting for everyone should anyone send information to tips at TechRaptor.

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I have been a gamer ever since I can remember, starting with the Sega Genesis and original Nintendo consoles. I graduated to frogger on an ancient IBM home PC, and then onto Sim City 2000. In 2004, I got into shooters and MMOs. I haven't looked back since.
Professionally, I am certified in private security. In my spare time, I dabble in information analysis and study geopolitics. I sometimes write at my own blog at keithelwood.com.